WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



the gallant little pack hard on his track, making the woods 

 echo withtheir enlivening cry.Thebuckfirst took alineinto 

 theroughestpartoftheground,expectingno doubt to throw 

 off the dogs at once, as he probably had often done with 

 sheep-dogs or curs that had chased him; butfinding that his 

 perseveringlittle enemies were not to be so outwitted, after 

 standing still for a short time to deliberate, he turned back 

 and went straight for the swamp where the guns were, but 

 seeingthe hat of one of the gentlemen posted there.and not 

 likingtocross the water directly in his face, he turned along 

 the edge of it, half inclined to go back. But just at this in- 

 stantthelittlepackcame fullcryoutof the wood — their deep 

 notes sounding in full chorus as they came upon the open 

 ground; they were rather at a loss for a moment or two, and 

 I ran up to put them on the scent. The buck, who had been 

 watching us as he went quietly along, was decided as to his 

 course by seeing this, and the moment the dogs' cry gave 

 notice that they had found the scent again, he dashed into 

 the water at a place where there was no pass — it was not 

 above a hundred yards in width,and excepting two or three 

 yards in the middle where he had to swim, not deeper than 

 a few inches. The beagles came full cry on his track, and 

 just viewed him as he was canteringupasteep ascent on the 

 othersideof the water; theyat once dashed in, and, encour- 

 aged by a view holloa, swam through the water and took 

 up the scent immediately — away they went, till we lost all 

 sound of them ; presently we heard their notes borne down 

 on the wind from a great distance — the sound came nearer 

 and nearer, and soon the buck appeared on the top of the 

 brae, near the water's edge, directly above two of the guns, 



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